Deal Spotter
DINING DEALS
TRAVEL DEALS
15%-20% off
29% OFF
SPECIALS
Reunion Resort & Spa:
Play golf in sunny Florida
for less with the “Classic
Golf” package. Designed for
foursomes, get one round
of golf per golfer per night, a
$10 per-person retail credit
in the pro shop, advanced
starting times and preferred
reservation times, unlimited
use of practice facilities
and fitness center and
club storage. Rates start at
$225 per golfer, per night,
a 15 percent to 20 percent
discount. For more details
or to book, visit www.
reunionresort.com.
Salamander Hotels &
Resorts: In honor of leap
year day, Salamander Hotels
& Resorts has a special “29
for 29” deal. For 29 hours
starting at 6 a.m. on Feb.
29 (through 11 a.m. March
1), take 29 percent off a
variety of rooms, suites and
multi-bedroom villas across
its collection of properties
in Virginia and Florida. The
rate can be booked only
during sales hours at www.
salamanderhotels.com/leap
and is valid for stays Monday
to Aug. 31. Some restrictions
and blackout dates apply.
Main Street Hospitality
Group: Visit Western
Massachusetts during
“art appreciation” season.
Book the “Museum Mania!”
package at Porches Inn at
MassMoCA or “The Norman
Rockwell Experience” at
the Red Lion Inn and get
breakfast and museum
passes for two. Rates
start at $219-$235 on
weekdays and $275-$305
on weekends, per night. This
deal is based on availability.
For details or to book, visit
www.redlioninn.com or
www.porches.com.
Golf getaway
Leap year deal
Berkshires culture
20% off
Stay for less in New York City
Contributed by Ti Lizzy’s Cantina
Special
Toast to this drink special
The Roxy Hotel TriBeCa: If you’re planning a trip to the
Big Apple, check out this deal from The Roxy Hotel TriBeCa,
located in Manhattan’s TriBeCa neighborhood. Book the “InTin Lizzy’s Cantina: In honor of National Margarita Day this
troducing The Roxy Hotel” special and take 20 percent off the
past Monday, Tin Lizzy’s Cantina is celebrating with super-sized best available rate for your first stay, valid now through March
specialty drinks, including a 22-ounce Big House Margarita (1800 31. For more details or to book, visit www.roxyhotelnyc.com/
tequila, Agavero and sour mix) for $10 and 22-ounce Grandma’s special-offers/roxyintro.
House Margaritas (1800 tequila, Agavero, sour mix and a hefty
floater of Grand Marnier) for $12. All 11 restaurant locations will
have these two specials through today (or while cup supplies
last). For location details, visit tinlizzyscantina.com.
50% OFF
50% OFF
50% OFF
Bamboo China Bistro: For
a deal on some Asian fare,
check out Bamboo China
Bistro in Marietta. The
restaurant has a $15 voucher
available on Localflavor.com
for $30 worth of Chinese
and Thai food. The voucher
expires Aug. 7 and is limited
to one per visit. Additional
details and restrictions
are online. Bamboo China
Bistro, 4400 Roswell Road,
Marietta; 770-509-2588.
The Swan Coach House:
Have classic Southern fare
for lunch at the landmark
restaurant and save with
the Scoutmob app on
your smartphone. Use it
to access a coupon for 50
percent off ($15 maximum
discount). The coupon is
only valid for lunch. The
Swan Coach House, 3130
Slaton Drive NW, Atlanta;
404-261-0224.
Industry Tavern: Have
dinner in Buckhead without
breaking the bank with this
special from Industry Tavern,
which serves up burgers,
seafood, steaks, craft beers
and more. Visit Boomstreet
.com for a $15 voucher good
for $30 to spend on dinner
and drinks at the eatery. See
website for full details and
restrictions. Industry Tavern,
3280 Peachtree Road NE,
Atlanta, 404-254-4468.
Chinese for cheap
Southern lunch
Drinks and dinner
Compiled by Jessie Dowd, for the AJC
Contributed by the Roxy hotel Tribeca
Compiled by Jessie Dowd, for the AJC
In a bank dispute, even
winners can be losers
By Jim Puzzanghera
Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON — Some
consumers might be in
for a surprise if they take
their banks to court over
checking or credit card
disputes: A provision in
account agreements says
even if you win, you lose.
Checking account disclosures at four large
banks and one large credit union make the customer liable for the
bank’s losses, costs or expenses — including attorney fees — from any dispute over the account, regardless of who wins.
“If you win the lawsuit,
you shouldn’t have to pay
the other side’s costs and
fees. It’s the other way
around,” said William
Shernoff, a Claremont,
Calif., lawyer who specializes in representing
consumers against insurance companies.
In more than 40 years
of practice, he said he
had never heard of a contract having such a provision.
“It’s offensive to consumers, to the legal system, to a sense of fairness,” said Pamela Banks,
senior policy counsel at
Consumers Union. “It’s
outrageous.”
Researchers for the
Safe Checking in the Electronic Age Project of the
Pew Charitable Trusts
discovered the provisions
in checking account disclosures at HSBC Bank,
TD Bank, PNC Bank,
Branch Banking & Trust
Co. and America First
Credit Union as part of a
review of fees and policies at large financial institutions.
Consumer law experts
said the provisions are on
shaky legal ground. But
including them in disclosures might have a simple
goal: scaring customers
away from going to court
at all.
“Does a consumer have
a dispute with their bank
and then they read this
clause and say, ‘There’s
no way I’m going to take
this forward’?” said Susan Weinstock, the Pew
project’s director.
Consumer advocates
said it’s another example
of how some banks try to
take advantage of their
customers and called for
regulators to look at the
practice.
Pew has called on the
new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
to review so-called feeshifting provisions as
part of a study the agency launched in April of arbitration clauses in contracts for bank accounts
and other financial products. The agency said it
would review the Pew
findings as part of the
study, which will look at
dispute resolution processes.
The fee-shifting provision appears to be aimed
at customers seeking to
sue, Weinstock said. But
the wording is very broad
and could encompass any
dispute.
HSBC’s 36-page Rules
for Deposit Accounts
phrases its clause this
way:
“You agree to be liable
to the bank for any losses, costs or expenses the
bank incurs as a result
of any dispute involving
your account. You authorize the bank to deduct
any such losses, costs or
expenses from your account without prior notice to you.”
Neil Brazil, an HSBC
spokesman, said the
bank’s provision was designed primarily to protect it from any losses it
might incur from legal
disputes between the primary account holder and
other authorized users,
such as a spouse.
The other financial institutions cited by Pew include similar provisions,
and specifically note that
attorney fees are included in those costs.
Merrie Betbeze Tolbert, vice president of
corporate communications for Branch Banking & Trust, said BB&T’s
provision was designed
to cover customers’ disputes with others when
bank personnel or records are needed to help
settle the disputes. The
clause allows the bank to
recover costs for providing records or testimony,
for example.
Rebecca Acevedo, a
spokeswoman for TD
Bank, agreed that the language was “pretty typical” but would not comment further.
Pew said the policies
were not typical.
The Safe Checking
Project first found the
provisions in a 2011 report titled Hidden Risks:
The Case for Safe and
Transparent Checking Accounts. For that report,
Pew looked at the policies
at the 10 largest banks by
deposits and found the
fee-shifting provision at
three of them — PNC, TD
Bank and HSBC. The finding drew little attention,
and the consumer protection bureau was not open
for business at the time.
Courts generally allow
both sides in a legal dispute to decide who is responsible for the costs,
said Stuart Rossman, director of litigation at the
National Consumer Law
Center. But a judge probably would not allow a
bank to shift all the costs
onto the customer, he
said.
Planning your arrival time and making only right turns can help you find a good parking
spot at the mall, especially during busy seasons. Fotolia/TNS
Don’t spend more time
parking than shopping
By William Hageman
Chicago Tribune
When it’s time to head
for the mall, don’t waste
too much time and spend
too much money.
This means anything
that makes the chore of
shopping easier is welcome. So here are some
ideas on how to best handle the challenge of parking at the mall. Some advice from the experts:
Timing is everything: Arrive “as soon
as you can after the mall
opens, that’s best,” says
Roy Nielsen, the security traffic captain at
the 14,000-spot Mall of
America in Bloomington,
Minn. Lots get their busiest from around 1:30 to
2:15 p.m., he says.
Rob Schoeneck, general manager at the
11,000-plus-spot Destiny
USA mall in Syracuse, N.Y.,
concurs. “Early or late in
the day are the best times
if you want to be close to
the building,” he says.
“And earlier (in the week)
— Monday through Thursday instead of Friday, Saturday and Sunday.”
Pay attention: Don’t
fiddle with the radio,
don’t check your email,
keep chitchat to a minimum. Your job is to shop.
And you can’t do that until you park.
Location, location,
location: In a perfect
world, you arrive at the
mall lot and find that the
first spot in the aisle closest to the entrance of
your destination store is
available. We will call this
the “Pope’s Spot.” But
the Pope’s Spot is never available. If he hasn’t
parked the Popemobile
there, the mayor’s mother-in-law has it sewn up.
So you make do. You can
circle the lot — maybe a
couple of times, maybe
infinitely — waiting for a
close-up spot. “If you’re
dead set on trying to find
a space next to the building itself, it may take a
while,” Schoeneck warns.
At Destiny — like many larger shopping centers — there’s a pedestrian walkway to an adjacent
lot. “You walk 200, 300,
400 feet,” Schoeneck says.
So put a little distance between the entrance and
your car. Or park a good
distance away and power
walk to the mall so you can
burn some calories and
not feel guilty about stopping at the food court.
Technology is your
friend: A lot of malls
have smartphone apps
you can check for parking updates. At the Mall
of America, Nielsen came
up with an app that his
crew updates, using information he collects
while buzzing around in
a three-wheeled cart. The
mall’s website also has
color-coded maps to direct drivers.
No left turns: While
seeking a spot, make only right turns. Saves time,
cuts down on congestion.
Reconsider stalking: While patrolling the
aisles, you may come
across shoppers headed for their car. But they
may be parked at the other end of creation, leaving you with a long hike.
Or they may just be dropping off their first load
before heading back into the mall for further
battle. Besides, inching
down the aisle five feet
behind a tired and slowmoving shopper just
seems creepy.
Feb. 25, 2016